Use of Hafnium in Control Elements of Nuclear Reactors and Power Units

Abstract

The expedience in the use of hafnium for control elements of a nuclear reactor is considered. The requirements of various producers on the chemical composition and mechanical properties of nuclear-purity hafnium are presented. Results of studies of the strain resistance and ductility characteristics of hafnium are discussed depending on the temperature and the deformation rate. The dependence of the hafnium hardness on the degree of deformation and on the annealing mode is presented. Results of a texture analysis are used to judge the effect of deformation and heat treatment on the anisotropy in the properties of hafnium. The developed process is used for the production of hafnium parts at VNIINM, i.e. hafnium plates are fabricated for the attachment unit of automatic control assemblies (ACA) for VVÉR-440 reactors.

L. G. Nekhamkin, Yu. A. Tsylov, and M. N. Butova, State of the Art and Tendencies of the Development of Production and Use of Hafnium Products, Issue 1 [in Russian], Central Research Inst. for Economy and Information of Nonferrous Metallurgy, Moscow (1987).Google Scholar